Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #28 of 2015 looks like $204 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, above the norm for this weekend and way above last year’s weak weekend. Opening at 4,301 theaters Friday, Minions from Universal is on track for a $115.2 million opening three-day weekend (a little lower than yesterday’s outlook but still […]

  OPENINGS:  As we forecast on Friday night, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE (TSG/20th) isn’t just running lower than 2014’s Days of Future Past, it’s also been more frontloaded.  20th is projecting a $65M 3-day weekend and $80M over 4 days, but Apocalypse dropped 23% from Friday to Saturday, compared to 18% for Future Past, and Apocalypse‘s Saturday […]

  Official studio estimates are in for New Year’s Weekend in the US, but overseas numbers are still sketchy.  A few notes: ROGUE ONE (Lucasfilm/Disney) had a US result in keeping with preliminary numbers, up 15% on Sunday and with an anticipated 12% Monday drop.  This puts it at $439.7M domestically, 41% below The Force […]

  OPENINGS:  LEAP (Weinstein) was the weekend’s tallest dwarf, claiming to have cleared $5M for the weekend, but that number will require an extremely strong Sunday hold.  Even if it’s sustained in tomorrow’s finals, it’s hardly anything to be enthused about–except in comparison to the weekend’s other losers. BIRTH OF THE DRAGON (WWE/Blumhouse/BH Tilt/Universal) couldn’t […]

  OPENINGS:  OVERBOARD (MGM/Pantelion/Lionsgate) opened in 45% more theatres than Eugenio Derbez’s How To Be A Latin Lover, and had a weekend that was 20% higher at $14.8M.  That’s not the cross-cultural breakout hit that the studio and Derbez had in mind, although an eventual $40M in the US will likely provide a modest profit […]

  OPENINGS:  Labor Day weekend is traditionally Hollywood’s graveyard, and no major studio touched the holiday with a fresh arrival.  DON’T LET GO (Blumhouse Tilt/OTL) tried to take advantage of the quiet, with a $2.4M start in 922 theatres, which should go to $3M with Monday.  Even considering its very low production/marketing budget, this will probably end […]

  OPENINGS:  FREAKY (Blumhouse/Universal) led the weekend at $3.7M.  It was the third consecutive weekend that a Universal-branded film opened at #1 (aided by the studio’s deal with AMC that allows its films to hit digital 3 weeks after theatrical release) and the fifth new #1 to open in the $3.1-4.1M range.  Like the others, […]

  OPENINGS:  DUNE (Legendary/Warners, also on HBO Max) launched in US theaters at $40.1M, the highest start for a film also premiering on HBO Max.  (And while Warners had previously preserved Thursday night for theatrical-only, the studio allowed Dune to hit HBO Max nationwide simultaneous with its first East Coast screenings.)  The film should also […]